


Dead Hearts

by Newtgitsune



Category: The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Basically a Walking Dead and Maze Runner crossover, Lizzy makes an appearance, M/M, Slow Burn, Spoilers for TWD, The TWD characters aren't gonna be in here for a while though so you're good for now, This shit is gonna be graphic so if you're not into that- run, Thomas is a cheeky brat, Will add the TWD fandom when characters appear, because I'm trash for both, eventually, newt needs a hug, obviously, oh god so much angst, really slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-04-23 11:42:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14331732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Newtgitsune/pseuds/Newtgitsune
Summary: Thomas is a chronic class-cutter, apathetic about anything that has to do with education, family, or anything that should even mildly concern him.Newt is a straight A student with a loving family, who might care to a fault and act on his impulses too much. They'd never crossed paths. Never would.And then the world went to shit.A crossover between The Maze Runner and The Walking Dead. Written by me and my friend Angela who doesn't have an ao3 account.





	1. 1. Newt

**Author's Note:**

> Newt normally didn’t mind crying. Emotions were normal, and nothing to be ashamed of. Sure, it could be embarrassing to cry around others, especially when it was over something unimportant. But sitting in the abandoned halls of a school, surrounded by the dead bodies of your classmates, with your little sister missing- that was something you were allowed to cry over, right?  
> Strangely enough, he didn’t.  
> Newt felt empty. The whole situation seemed fake. Like a camera crew would jump out all of the sudden, with a cheery host, telling him that this was all a joke and that everything had been recorded for some stupid tv-show. Lizzy would appear from behind the host and all would be well.
> 
> But that wasn’t true. Not even the media would be so fucked up as to do this to someone. But then how was this possible? And where the hell was his sister?  
> Newt sighed and balled his fists, then hiding his face in his hands.  
> Hell had finally broken loose, and Newt was in the middle of it.

 

Newt awoke from his daydream when the alarm went off.

He’d been dreaming about his summer vacation. He would be going to Hawaii this year, with his parents and his little sister, and so his head was filled with images of white beaches, palm trees, surfing boards and azure waters before they’d been interrupted so rudely by the shrill sound of the siren going off.

_ Siren? _

The school bell wasn’t a siren. Usually it was like an alarm clock. An annoying, ringing sound that was way too loud and echoed through the halls every forty-five minutes to announce that this period had ended and the next was about to begin. This sound was different. An alarm that Newt hadn’t heard before- no, that wasn’t true. The janitor would let this siren go off at the fire drills.

“What’s goin’ on? A drill?” Newt asked the boy who was sat beside him. He didn’t even know his name, he realized.

The boy shrugged his shoulders. “Dunno. I haven’t heard anything about a drill. Maybe something’s really wrong.”

Newt looked around the classroom. Weirdly enough, nobody seemed to be panicking- not even the teacher. He was gazing at the ceiling, confused, his hand with a white chalk marker in it slowly sinking down.

 

Newt stood up. He made his way through the crowd to look through the tiny window in their classroom door. Through the glass he could see students rising from their chairs, and others who didn’t look panicked, more startled, coming out of their classroom.

Newt pushed down the door handle and swung the door open, stepping into the hallway.

 

Around him the corridors slowly filled with his peers. Everyone, surprisingly, was dead quiet.

“Maybe someone accidentally turned on the fire alarm?” a girl suggested, but she was soon shot down by another student. “It would’ve stopped by now if that was the case.”

“Then why is that damn thing going off? I don’t smell any smoke. Can’t see any flames.”

“If you’d just shut your mouth for a second, we might find out.”

This provoked multiple discussions, people talking over each other, their voices getting louder and louder until the siren that was  _ still going off _ was almost inaudible through the noise.

 

A scream echoed through the hallway.

Silence.

 

Everyone looked to the right, where the sound had came from. Again, someone cried out. A girl. Clearly, she was in pain, or scared.  _ But what was she afraid of? _

Newt forced his way through the mass- despite his height he had to stand on his tiptoes to be able to see anything.

He brushed his bangs out of his eyes and narrowed them, staring into the distance. At the end of the hallway, a small figure was steadily becoming bigger and clearer. A girl- probably the source of the cries. She held her left arm in such a way that suggested she’d been hurt.

Just after she’d rounded the corner she leaned against the lockers to catch her breath. Sobbing, she inspected her arm, after which she let out a gasp. Newt wanted to push forward to see what was wrong with her- if he could help her.

Then others came into view.

 

Immediately the girl started to run again, but in her panic, she tripped and landed on her wounded arm. Crying out in pain, she dragged herself forward over the floor, but not fast enough. The horde of people caught up to her, the ones closest to her falling to their knees, grabbing her. Newt let out a sigh of relief- perhaps these strangers were able to help her.

He had never been more wrong.

The people bowed over her and sunk their teeth in her flesh. The girl let out a heart-wrenching scream, unable to escape from these..  _ things. _

 

Frozen, the crowd of students stood still and  _ watched _ . Watched the gruesome spectacle happening right before their eyes.

Suddenly something clicked in Newt’s head. When these people were done with the poor girl on the ground, they would see them, and to say they’d have a problem would be the understatement of the goddamn year.

“Get out of here,” Newt hissed to the students closest to him, loud enough so they would hear but the cannibals wouldn’t. He turned around and made his way to the exit, along with all the other students trying to get out. Away from the people who had just  _ eaten a fucking child. _ Everyone had gone white, some were looking straight ahead, their eyes glazed over in a wild panic. Others were crying, looking for their classmates, friends, siblings.

Which reminded Newt of something  _ very  _ important.

_ Lizzy. _

 

Newt could just about shoot himself. How could he have forgotten about his little sister? She was only eleven. She wouldn’t be fast enough to get away, and once  _ they _ would have taken a hold of her…

His eyes were nearly filled with tears at the thought alone. But he couldn’t turn around and go back further into the school. It’d be suicide. The girl just now was a brunette- Lizzy wasn’t. As far as Newt was aware, Lizzy was safe.

_ Home,  _ he told himself, _ that’s where she’ll go.  _ Newt pushed open the heavy steel doors of the school, nearly falling over his own feet in his hurry to get out. He started running, sprinting, towards his house- he didn’t live far off. A ten minute’s stroll. At the pace he was going he would be able to do it in half the time, at the least.

 

Pure chaos reigned the streets. Cars filled the road, honking, trying to get out of town. People were running, everywhere, carrying their suitcases in their arms. Children were being dragged along, terror on their faces, clutching their stuffed toys as if their lives depended on it. 

 

Heaving, Newt arrived at his house. He fished the keys out of his pocket and attempted to open the door with trembling hands. When he heard the lock snap open he stumbled into the house. “Lizzy?” he called, entering the hallway and shutting the door behind him. His parents would be at work. He’d go there as soon as he’d found Lizzy. She was his priority. 

She didn’t answer.

Repeatedly yelling her name he made his way through the mess that was his living room. Their house was big, but not enormous- they just had too much. Their house was a permanent pigsty, but it wasn’t an issue. “Cosily crowded,” is what his mother called it. 

Newt checked the kitchen. All three bedrooms. Bathroom. Closets. But Lizzy was nowhere to be found. 

He just about growled in frustration, slamming the last closet door shut behind him. The plates rattled in the cabinet above it.  _ Maybe she’s hidden herself inside the school, _ he thought. Newt quickly ran back to the front door, but just before opening it, he changed his mind. 

 

Food.  
_In these types of situations, you have to be prepared for everything,_ a voice in Newt’s head told him. _You might not be able to come back later._   
Newt quickly grabbed the nearest backpack and ran to the kitchen. He emptied the fruit bowl in it, then tossed in half a bread, chocolate, water bottles- anything he could find that fit inside. His gaze went over the empty bowls and drawers, stopping on the kitchen knife laying on one of the chopping boards. He hesitated, for a moment, before grabbing it and sliding it into his bag. _You never know._

 

After filling his backpack with as much as he could possibly stuff inside, Newt ran out of the house again. Back to the school. In the meantime the streets had gotten a lot quieter- weirdly enough. Newt didn’t believe it was possible that everyone had fled the city already.

But when he rounded the corner, he saw a whole different scene.

 

On the busiest road of the town, dozens, maybe hundreds of the cannibals were stood. They looked battered, with ripped clothes, an unnaturally pale skin, and sunken in eyes and cheeks. Newt felt shivers going down his spine. Quickly, before they could see him, he sprinted across the street, back to the school. In the schoolyard, the monsters- they couldn’t be called people- were visible. Not too many, luckily. Newt hoped they’d all left the school and Lizzy was still safely inside.

 

Newt entered the school through the front door. He hadn’t been spotted by the creatures- they roamed the grounds on the backside of the building.

When he was inside, Newt felt the urge to call for his sister, but he didn’t. He couldn’t risk getting heard by one of the cannibals. Sure, he had a weapon- but would he be able to defend himself with it?

The main hall seemed deserted. A strange, unsettling smell hung in the air, but nothing seemed out of place. The smaller corridors, however, were filled with bodies.

 

Blood dripped off the lockers. Children, young and old, were lying on the floor, some of them nearly dead, others murdered by the cannibals. Newt suppressed a wave of nausea at the sight and the smell of blood and death. Holding his hand in front of his nose and mouth, he walked through the corridor, towards his sister’s classroom. He passed a few familiar bodies. A boy, whose name Newt thought was Dave. His throat had been torn open along with his stomach, his right arm nowhere to be found.

A few feet in front of him, a boy with white curls was laid. Zart, Newt remembered. He’d never really spoken to the student, but the sight still hurt. Zart seemed less banged up than Dave had been- his body was littered with scratches and bruises, but the only major injury seemed to be the fatal one as well. A large chunk of his flesh had been ripped out of his throat, where his artery would be. He most likely bled to death- judging by the crimson liquid pooling around the corpse.

Newt bit his lip and his eyes fluttered shut as he tried to ignore the stench that attacked his nostrils. Slowly, he reopened them and he stumbled forward, along the bloodied wall, guiding himself towards Lizzy’s classroom.

 

When he  _ finally _ arrived there, Newt pulled open the door, expecting to see Lizzy, sitting there, in a corner, unharmed.

Instead he saw a tiny foot sticking out from behind the teacher’s desk.

 

Newt gasped and dropped his backpack, hurrying over. He prepared for the worst and bent over the desk.

There lay the body of a young girl, severely damaged. Her long, strawberry blonde hair covered her face- the rest of her body was unrecognizable. Her ribcage had been slashed open, her body split in two where her navel would be, exposing her insides. One leg was missing from the knee down. Her clothes were drenched in blood.

Seeing this Newt turned away, emptying the contents of his stomach. Heaving, he spat out the last bit of bile, wiping his mouth with the back of his trembling hand.    
His legs gave out under him. His knees landed on the floor with a painful  _ thud, _ right in the puddle of blood. Newt slowly raised his hand and moved it towards the corpse, unknowingly holding his breath. He had to know. His fingers brushed the hair out of the girl’s face, leaving a red streak.

 

Newt couldn’t do anything but let out a sigh in relief, and he hated himself for it. The little girl wasn’t Lizzy. He was alleviated,  _ glad,  _ almost, because a young, innocent girl had been slaughtered so brutally and it wasn’t his sister. Filled with revulsion, he pushed himself to his feet, mumbling an apology to the dead girl before walking out of the classroom again, grabbing his backpack on the way there. 

 

But if Lizzy wasn’t here, then where was she?

Newt took a deep breath and walked through the hall. Every body that could’ve been his sister he checked, but she wasn’t with them.

Full of desperation he let himself sink down to the floor along the lockers in the main hallway. Newt stared at the ground in front of his feet, not knowing where else to look for her. Lizzy was gone. Missing. Untraceable. He had no idea where she could be and she would never make it on her own, with those barbarians everywhere. She was as good as dead.

 

Newt normally didn’t mind crying. Emotions were normal, and nothing to be ashamed of. Sure, it could be embarrassing to cry around others, especially when it was over something unimportant. But sitting in the abandoned halls of a school, surrounded by the dead bodies of your classmates, with your little sister missing- that was something you were allowed to cry over, right?   
Strangely enough, he didn’t.

Newt felt empty. The whole situation seemed fake. Like a camera crew would jump out all of the sudden, with a cheery host, telling him that this was all a joke and that everything had been recorded for some stupid tv-show. Lizzy would appear from behind the host and all would be well.

 

But that wasn’t true. Not even the media would be so fucked up as to do this to someone. But then how was this possible? And where the hell was his sister?

Newt sighed and balled his fists, then hiding his face in his hands.

Hell had finally broken loose, and Newt was in the middle of it.

 

\----------------------------------------------------------

 

A voice resonated through the school’s empty halls.

Newt looked up. It was a boy’s voice. The hope that had sparked up in him had been splashed out again. It wasn’t Lizzy- but who was it?

Another sound arose. Deeper and softer than the first voice, but this sounded more dangerous. A low growl.

The first voice sounded again, more loudly this time, followed by a clanging noise- like someone had been slammed into a locker. Newt frowned and pushed himself up along the wall, his backpack slung over one shoulder. Slowly, he stepped forward. The voices came from the corridor filled with bodies.

Newt squeezed the band of his backpack, his knuckles turning white. As silently as he could, he snuck closer, so he could peek around the corner. Carefully, he raised his arm to take a hold of the corner.

Suddenly a figure appeared from the bloodied hallway. A boy, around his age, maybe a little younger. He looked pale as a ghost and nearly tripped due to the speed with which he came around the corner. Newt stumbled back, startled. The stranger ran past him, not even seeing Newt.  _ What was he running from? _ Newt wondered, his eyes following the fleeing boy.

 

As if on cue someone else came staggering into the main hall. It was someone Newt had seen before, with a ripped neck and empty, dead eyes.

“Zart?” Newt whispered. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He’d seen this boy, lying on the floor, nothing but a lifeless body, and now he was walking again. A walking dead.

Zart’s head immediately turned to meet Newt’s eyes. He’d apparently forgotten about the other boy, now headed straight for Newt. Zart’s jaws snapped shut and opened again, his lips drawn up in a snarl, like a predator growling at its prey.

Newt’s eyes widened when he realised what Zart was. One of the cannibals. Barbarians. People, monsters, things,  _ whatever.  _ He was a hungry, living dead man. 

And he was set on Newt’s flesh.

Newt cursed under his breath and turned around. He felt Zart’s cold, blood-stained fingertips graze his shoulder and Newt  _ ran. _

He pushed himself off the wall, stumbling over his own feet but quickly regaining his balance, fleeing from the dead.

In front of him he saw the other boy push open the school’s back doors. Newt quickened his pace and pushed ahead, getting closer to the other. He ran, and ran, and stormed out of the school, not realising the boy had stopped. Newt’s eyes widened and he tried to slow down, but it was too late. He collided with the boy, sending them both to the ground.

Newt muttered an apology and got back on his feet. His breath hitched in his throat when he saw some of the dead ones turn around, paired with the sound of the school’s doors opening behind them.

They were trapped.

Newt looked around frantically, looking for a way out. There was a narrow alley on the left, but through the steps of the fire escape he could see that it was a dead en-

The fire escape.

Newt grabbed, maybe a little too roughly, the arm of the boy he’d just crashed into, and he dragged him along towards the stairs. Quickly he climbed up, two steps at a time, past the extinguisher that was strapped to the wall. The other boy did notice. With a powerful pull he yanked the extinguisher off, lugging it along with him.

 

Once they’d arrived on the roof Newt slung his backpack off his shoulder, zipping it open. He quickly pulled out the kitchen knife he’d taken with him, gripping it tight.

“What now? Do ya think they can come up here?” He asked his companion. The boy looked at him with an annoyed and mildly panicked glare. “Oh, yeah, sorry. When I saw my dead best friend coming for me I didn’t really think about asking him if he could climb.” he replied, his raspy, rather deep voice dripping with sarcasm.

Newt huffed and he rolled his eyes. “Gallows humour. That’s something we need right now.”

he mumbled. He’d already decided he didn’t like the guy.

He pulled his eyes away from the stranger and focused them on the stairs. The dead were stood at the bottom, trying to come up. Newt looked at the hand that held the knife- he wouldn’t be able to stop them with it. Knowing him he’d quickly be overpowered by one of the cannibals without even having stabbed one.

 

Meanwhile the dead had climbed up to about three quarters of the fire escape. They were running out of time. Panicking, Newt looked around the roof, resting his eyes on the fire extinguisher the other had brought up along with him. Newt dropped his knife and he ripped the weighty tool out of the boy’s arms. When he turned back to the stairs, the dead in the front of the herd was only a step away from reaching the rooftop. Newt held his breath and swung the extinguisher straight into the monster’s forehead. With a sickening crunch the dead’s skull caved in, and he was thrown backwards, right into the others following him, and together they fell down a few steps. They hadn’t been stopped yet, though. Before they could recover and come for them again, Newt threw the extinguisher after them. It landed right on the dead’s chest, giving the final push and throwing the whole horde down to the floor. The extinguisher rolled after it, coming to a halt in the first cannibal’s bashed in skull.

With his eyes wide, Newt covered his mouth with his hand, staring at the chaos he’d just created. Under him his shaking knees decided that they could no longer support his weight and he collapsed, landing on his hands and knees, his eyes focused on the heap of corpses at the bottom of the fire escape.

The other boy sank down to his haunches beside him and had the same look in his eyes, only it wasn’t aimed at the bodies, it was set on  _ him. _

“Who  _ are _ you?” 

 


	2. 1. Thomas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas scrolled down. Even though he meant well, Zart’s nagging wasn’t very interesting. Suddenly Thomas caught a glimpse of a concerning sentence and he removed his thumb from the screen.
> 
> 11:46 People are eating people. Help.
> 
> Not even three seconds later the siren sounded and Thomas nearly dropped his phone in shock.
> 
> A high-pitched noise alerted Thomas that he’d gotten a new message from Zart and he quickly opened it.
> 
> 11:58 Just got bit?! Officer shot kid I think he’s dead
> 
> Ping.
> 
> 11:58 I thnk im gonna die

Thomas strolled through the streets of Atlanta. He hated the neighborhood. It was noisy, and it always smelled like liquor, but it was better than school.

  
Everything was better than school.

 

The only fun thing Thomas could think of when he heard the word ‘school’ was ‘cafeteria’ which was about equal to ‘heaven’ in Thomas’s mind.

 

Man, he’d happily join a math class once a month in exchange for one of the delicious pizzas from the school cafeteria. Everything was better than the meals his nanny cooked for him.

 

However, showing up at school after a month maybe wasn’t the best idea. Especially not when it was just for a pizza.

 

The attendance officer would immediately drag him along to have a ‘good conversation’ and Thomas hated talking to authorities.

 

Thomas fished his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it. Twenty-one Snapchat notifications; seventy WhatsApp messages. Who would it be this time? Thomas guessed it would be his best friend Zart.

 

The guy desperately wanted Thomas to have a bright future.

 

To Thomas’s surprise, this time it weren’t seventy ‘please come to school!! :’( :’(‘ messages, although over half of them had been sent by Zart.

 

_ 9:35 Come to school you idiot _

_ 9:43 We’re debating. It’s fun, so come pls _

_ 9:54 Anderson’s still asking where you are lmao _

 

Thomas scrolled down. Even though he meant well, Zart’s nagging wasn’t very interesting. Suddenly Thomas caught a glimpse of a concerning sentence and he removed his thumb from the screen.

 

_ 11:46 People are eating people. Help. _

 

Not even three seconds later the siren sounded and Thomas nearly dropped his phone in shock.

 

A high-pitched noise alerted Thomas that he’d gotten a new message from Zart and he quickly opened it.

 

_ 11:58 Just got bit?! Officer shot kid I think he’s dead _

 

_ Ping. _

 

_ 11:58 I thnk im gonna die _

 

_ *** _

 

Shocked, Thomas stared at Zart’s messages. At any other time he’d have thought the guy was joking, but this paired with the alarm.. it wasn’t right.

 

Why would Zart crack jokes now? His best friend had an awful sense of humor, but it wasn’t this bad, was it?   
  


Thomas sat down on a dumpster that was positioned against the wall of a smaller building.

He had no idea what he was supposed to do. Staying in the alley might not be the best plan, but where else was he supposed to go? Home? No way. His nanny was a bitch and his parents were - surprise, surprise- not at home.

 

He could go to a cafe, but he wasn’t really in the mood to be around laughing people right now,

  
Zart’s message was probably just a dumb prank, to scare him. People didn’t eat people. This was the 21st century, not the fucking prehistory!

 

Maybe he should just go to school.

He would be able to see for himself what was going on. Besides, if there was a cannibal-disaster-of-sorts going on.. didn’t schools always have a plan ready for emergencies?

 

Yeah, maybe school was his best option.

 

Thomas stood up on the dumpster and pulled himself up onto the roof of the small building. If these cannibals were real, he’d rather stay out of their way.

 

***

 

Glade High.

 

The school had never made Thomas feel at ease, but this time it felt like he was walking straight towards his death.

 

The schoolyard was dead silent. Bicycles laid on the ground and for a second Thomas doubted if going inside was a good idea, but what else could he do? Outside didn’t look a whole lot safer.

 

Thomas hesitantly pushed open the doors. He was met with a foul smell. Metallic.

 

“Hey!” Thomas yelled. His voice echoed through the hallway, but no response came. “Zart?!” 

 

Then Thomas saw.

 

Right in front of him, barely seven feet away, lay a body. It was too small for it to be his best friend, but nevertheless Thomas felt bile coming up. A corpse.

 

Thomas snuck closer to the body and carefully turned it over. Two dark brown eyes stared at him blankly and Thomas quickly looked away. He shouldn’t have done that. Another seven or so feet away from him lay one more dead body.

 

Thomas bit his lip. Panic was catching on, but he knew stressing out wouldn’t be a smart thing to do. Stress could get you killed.

 

Okay. He had to start thinking rationally. It looked like people had completely gone out of their minds.

 

What did he need to not get bitten and killed? A weapon. Slim chance he was going to find one in Glade High.

 

What else? Shelter. That, he  _ could _ find here. The sports hall had pretty good locks,  _ and _ few windows. That was an idea. Temporarily, of course. Until the police would come to save him.

 

Thomas closed his eyes and stepped over the bloody corpses.

 

He knew he couldn’t start panicking, but he did feel a whole lot of fear when he stepped into the locker room.

 

If it was like  _ this _ in the hall, where very often there weren’t that many students, then how bad would it be in there?   
  


It was bad.

 

There were corpses everywhere. Ripped open bodies. Blood. Blood everywhere. On the lockers; on the ground.

 

For a second Thomas thought that he was going to faint, but he recovered and forced himself to ignore the blood. He had to hurry. If the cannibals were to return, that’d be the end.

 

Thomas walked straight towards Zart’s locker. His own was empty, but Zart’s wasn’t. His mom was a doomsayer. Constantly spoke about the end of today’s civilisation. 

 

His locker was probably, forced by his dad, filled to the brim with bottles of water and food packages.

 

Thomas searched for the bobby pin he always carried- for emergencies. When he’d found it, he managed to pick the lock within seconds, opening Zart’s locker.

 

Jackpot.

 

Thomas opened his backpack and shoved the contents of Zart’s locker inside. Two six-packs of water bottles, crackers, and a tiny jar filled with which were probably vitamins. In the corner lay a small, metal box. Thomas threw it into his bag. He’d check what was inside later.

 

For a second Thomas felt guilty, but Zart would probably forgive him. If.. if he was still alive.

 

Thomas pulled a marker from his bag, slammed the locker shut and drew on a big ‘X’. Then he started breaking open the next locker. He had no idea who it belonged to, but he was thankful for the bottle of vodka the owner kept inside. Who knew when it’d be of use.

 

Thomas had just started picking the third lock, when he suddenly heard clattering behind him.

 

He turned around, clenched his fists, and then he let them sink down again.

 

“You’re alive!” Thomas looked over Zart in relief. He didn’t look good- there was a gaping wound in his neck and his mouth hung open, but at least he was alive. “What happened?”

 

Zart growled. His arm went up. Then down again. It looked pretty spastic, but Thomas could understand that considering the injuries Zart had.

 

“I think the police will be here soon, but in the meantime, I can take a look at your wound?” 

 

Zart came closer. His jaws snapped and his limbs were shaking.

 

“Hey, I’m sorry I wasn’t at school, okay?” Thomas looked his friend deep in the eyes. Looking for the ever-present glimmer.

 

Nothing.

 

This wasn’t Zart anymore.

 

“Oh my god..” Thomas stumbled backward, hitting the lockers with his back. He slung his backpack over his shoulder. “I’m sorry..” 

 

This was a cannibal. A living dead.

 

Thomas began to run.

 

Thomas ran like his life depended on it- which it did. The talking to Zart had attracted other zombies.

 

The group became bigger every passing second, but Thomas was still ahead of them and that was what it was all about.

 

In a blind panic Thomas pushed open the school doors and he stormed out onto the school yard.

 

At least, that’s what he tried. A zombie collided with him and he tripped.

 

He tried to push himself up, but the zombie was too heavy.

 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

 

“Sorry.” the weight disappeared off his back. Baffled, Thomas climbed back to his feet. Zombies weren’t supposed to talk. He… Thomas didn’t have a lot of time to think about it.

 

“We’re trapped,” the figure next to him mumbled.

 

“You’re serious?” Thomas grunted.

 

The boy grasped Thomas’s arm and he got dragged along, everything but carefully.

 

For a second Thomas felt the urge to rip himself loose, but then he saw what the boy meant.

 

The fire escape.

 

Thomas hurried after the boy, stopped just before climbing up the stairs and he snatched the extinguisher off the wall. It could be useful for bashing a zombie’s head in.

 

Once he’d arrived on the rooftop, Thomas calmed down. The zombies were, thank God, not that fast, and so he had a moment to catch his breath.

 

Thomas set down the extinguisher, wiped the sweat off his forehead and then took the time to look to the side.

 

His assailant was tall. Brown-blond hair. Brown, teary eyes. He held a kitchen knife. Where’d he get a kitchen knife? Hopefully he’d brought more things from the kitchen- man, running made you hungry.

 

“What now? Ya think they can climb the stairs?” 

 

Thomas shrugged. “How am I supposed to know? Sadly I didn’t have the time to ask my dead best friend.

 

“Gallows humor,” the boy mumbled. He probably didn’t intend for Thomas to hear. “That’s something we need right now.” 

 

Thomas picked up the fire extinguisher and approached the fire escape along with the boy. Once he’d gotten there, he immediately stumbled back again. “Fuck, man, they  _ can _ climb the stairs!”

 

The guy next to him cursed. Suddenly he grabbed the extinguisher with both of his hands and roughly pulled it out of Thomas’s. This was so unexpected that Thomas didn’t really know what to say. Not that he had the time to say anything, because a zombie had nearly arrived at the rooftop.

 

The extinguisher met the closest zombie’s head with such a sickening smack and the moving dead body fell backwards. In its fall he took a few other dead with him.

 

Panicking, the boy next to Thomas stared at the object in his hands. Then he hurled it down the fire escape.

 

It made a hellish noise and the zombies followed the sound, grunting.

 

When the staircase was empty, the boy broke down. Sobbing, he threw himself down on the ground.

 

Thomas hesitated. What was he supposed to do? He wasn’t good with people an in addition to that he didn’t really understand why the boy was crying. He hadn’t been bitten, right? At least, that’s what Thomas hoped.

 

Carefully he sunk down next to the boy, and he looked straight at him. 

  
“Who  _ are _ you?” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This was written by Angela (@ Angela get an account ffs). Comments, kudos and feedback are always appreciated! <3


	3. 2. Newt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newt straightened himself and wiped the dust off his clothes, before approaching the other boy. “We have to get out of here as fast as possible.”
> 
> “Yeah. But how?”
> 
> “I have a car.”
> 
> “Can you drive?”
> 
> “No.”

He didn’t know how, but he managed to look away from the staircase. Straight into the eyes of the still unknown person.

 

Newt sniffed. He wasn’t even aware of the fact that he was crying. Not like it was a surprise, after what had happened- but you’d think you’d know if you were crying or not.

You didn’t, apparently.

 

“Newt,” he rasped, almost inaudible. He coughed quickly and repeated himself. “Newt. Newt White.” Newt wiped his cheeks dry with the ball of his hand. “And you are?”   
  
The boy was smaller, but more toned than he was. Which wasn’t unusual, since Newt’s tall body had a rather lean frame.

He had brown, messy hair, along with brown eyes. His face was littered with tiny, dark moles, making him look gentle- but the look in his eyes was everything but.

 

Wary. Challenging, almost.

 

“Thomas,” he told him. “My name’s Thomas. Aren’t we in the same Math class? Or was it English..”

 

Newt shrugged. “Neither, probably, since we’ve had both this morning and I didn’t see you in either.

 

Thomas smirked, a mischievous gleam in his light eyes. “Might be because I never show up.”

 

“You’re a great student.”

 

Thomas laughed. “I know.”

 

Newt sighed, rubbing his eye with one of his fists, pushing himself up to his haunches with the other. “The fire extinguisher isn’t gonna hold those… things down for long.” he looked around. “If we want to get out of here safely, we have to get a move on.”

 

Both boys looked around, looking for a way out that wouldn’t lead them right past the monsters. The only other way was through the school, which wasn’t an option, seen as the halls were filled with bodies who’d fancy a little stroll.

 

Thomas nudged Newt. “We could go across the other roofs.”

 

Newt looked at the boy in disbelief. “Across the other roofs? You mean that we have to  _ jump? _ What, do you have a death wish?”

 

Thomas rolled his eyes, which Newt didn’t appreciate at all. “Relax. I used to do freerunning. A jump like that isn’t half as bad as it looks.”

 

“Yeah, and you  _ train _ for freerunning. Just because you can go around swingin’ around the city like a bloody monkey doesn’t mean I can.”

 

Thomas grinned. “Believe me. I’ll go first, then you can toss your bag, then you jump.”

 

When Newt stared at him, clearly unconvinced, Thomas let out a deep sigh. “Seriously? You just used a fire extinguisher to bash in the head of one of those things, but you’re too scared to make such a little jump?”

  
Newt let out an indignant huff and picked up his backpack. “Alright. But if I fall down and break both of my legs, it’s your fault.”

 

Thomas merely grinned and he turned around, estimating the distance between the closest roof and himself. He took a deep breath and started sprinting. With an astounding speed, he ran up until the edge, where he pushed off and he just about flew over to the next building. He landed about three feet further than the edge, quickly regaining his balance, after which he looked over his shoulder, breathing heavily. “You see? It isn’t that hard,” he shouted, “throw your bag, I’ll catch it.”

 

Newt clenched his jaws and snatched the kitchen knife off the floor. He shoved it into his backpack and walked up to the edge. With one quick movement, he tossed the bag to the other side, where Thomas managed to pluck it out of the air. “Got it! Now you go.”

 

Newt took a few steps back and he stared at the other side, his dark eyes filled with determination. He then ran forward, nearing the edge, pushing off at the last second. He flew through the air for a small moment, after which he landed with a smack that forced all the air out of his lungs. Newt coughed, breathing in deeply whenever he could. “I am  _ never _ doing that again,” he wheezed. “Is there an exit anywhere?”

 

Thomas nodded. “There’s another fire escape. I already checked- it’s clear.” He grabbed Newt’s backpack off the ground and slung it over his shoulder. “You coming?”

  
Newt straightened himself and wiped the dust off his clothes, before approaching the other boy. “We have to get out of here as fast as possible.”

 

“Yeah. But how?”

  
“I have a car.”

  
“Can you drive?”

  
“No.”

 

***

 

The two moved through the abandoned streets.  _ Weird,  _ Newt thought,  _ how such a big city can become completely empty in such a short time. _

 

“So… where do you live?” Thomas asked, side-eyeing Newt.

 

“A few more minutes away. While we’re there, we can get some more supplies.” he was quiet for a moment. “And check if my sister’s there.”

  
Thomas looked surprised. “You have a sister? How do you know if she’s home?”

 

“I don’t know,” Newt admitted, looking around the corner to see if the coast was clear, “but she wasn’t at school. She’d have gone home immediately in situation like this.”

 

Thomas shrugged. “Sure.”

  
“Do you have any siblings?” Newt asked, now looking at Thomas, who shook his head. “I’m an only child.”

 

Newt nodded silently. He spotted his house and started walking faster. When they arrived he fished his key out of his pocket and opened the door, this time without any problems. 

  
“Lizzy?” he called, walking into the hallway. Again, there was no answer. He let out a deep sigh and moved into the living room. Maybe she’d be hiding there.

  
No one.

 

Kitchen. His parents’ bedroom. His own bedroom. Lizzy’s room. Bathroom. Attic. Basement. She was nowhere to be found.

 

Newt cursed and went back to his companion, who was stood in the hallway with a dazed look on his face. “She isn’t here. Come on. We can get some more stuff, and then drive through the town. She has my phone number, maybe she’s with a friend…”   
He mumbled the last part, more to himself than to Thomas.

 

Thomas nodded and searched the house, looking for anything that might be useful. Lighters, knives, more water and food. A first-aid kit. Fresh clothes.

 

After they’d packed their bags and had eaten something in silence they left the house. Newt nervously fiddled with his car keys, his eyes flitting from side to side, looking for movement. His muscles were tensed, ready to sprint away at any given moment.

 

He looked at the keys. His parents had gifted him a brand new Audi on his birthday, thinking he’d pass his exam on the first time. Apparently not. Out of excitement he’d hurried into taking the exam, and he’d nearly crashed.

His parents had been very disappointed, but they never took his car. Which was useful now- if only Newt would know how to differentiate the gas pedal from the breaks.

 

After walking for a bit they arrived at his car, the light blue Audi reflecting the bright sunlight into his eyes.

 

Newt unlocked the car and moved towards the driver’s side. “Get in,” he told Thomas, who looked at him with obvious doubt.

  
Newt rolled his eyes. “Come on. I’m not that bad. Or, if you’d rather walk?”

 

Thomas immediately hurried to the passenger’s side. Newt got into the car and slipped the key into the lock, revving the engine to life.    
  


They drove through the empty streets. The city looked like a ghost town. Newt thought about this morning. He’d slept in a little, and had been scolded by his parents.    
“For God’s sake, Newt. You’re seventeen! Can’t you be at least a  _ little _ responsible?” they had said. Lizzy had loved it. She had been eating her cereal while giggling, looking at the rest of the family with wide, glittering brown eyes.

 

Newt sighed. He hadn’t seen anyone after that morning. His parents had left for work after giving both of their kids a kiss on their foreheads, and Newt and Lizzy had gone to school together, discussing their upcoming classes. Lizzy would’ve had a maths test today.

 

He doubted if he’d ever see her again. His annoying, loud, everpresent, amazing little sister.

 

And then he saw her.

 

In the street in front of them, a little girl was walking, her back facing the car. She was carrying a white backpack with a picture of a cat printed on it, and she wore a white skirt with a light blue blouse on top of it. The clothes Lizzy had worn that morning, with her favourite backpack.

 

Newt stopped the car so fast, that Thomas shot forward and nearly banged his head against the dashboard. He let out an indignant yelp and glared at Newt- who’d already stepped out of the car.

 

“Lizzy!” he exclaimed in relief, “Thank God! I’ve been looking all over the place for you. Why didn’t you come home?”

 

The girl stopped walking and slowly turned around.

 

The grin on Newt’s face disappeared like snow before the sun.

 

There was a gaping wound on her cheek, exposing some of her teeth. Her arms were covered in bruises and scratches that had so clearly been caused by human nails. She was limping- her right ankle had been broken, the bone sticking out through her flesh.

 

Newt felt a wave of nausea hit him. “Oh, Lizzy..” he breathed, his voice nowhere to be found.

Lizzy stumbled towards him, an inhuman growling coming out of her throat. Newt was paralysed, staring at his little sister. The girl opened her jaws, and the wound on her cheek ripped open more.

 

Newt was gripped from behind.

  
Thomas was stood behind him, wildly pulling on his arm. “C’mon, we gotta go!” he yelled, pointing behind Lizzy.

 

A horde had appeared behind her without Newt noticing.

 

It looked like it could have been half of Atlanta’s population. People who no longer were people were everywhere. Everywhere, there were dead eyes, snapping jaws, growls.

 

Newt awoke from his daze and stumbled backwards, but Thomas managed to catch him right before he fell. He quickly turned around to face him. “I can’t leave her like this,” he panted, pointing at his sister.   
  
“That isn’t your sister anymore, Newt.” Thomas answered. “Can’t you see that?”   
  
Newt bit his lip and looked over his shoulder. Thomas was right.

 

Lizzy was gone.

 

He nodded and ran back to his car with Thomas close behind him. They climbed inside and quickly locked the doors, the..  _ things _ closing in on them. Newt glanced at the mirror- there was still space behind them. He switched gears and stomped down on the gas pedal, shooting backwards and earning a yelp from Thomas’s throat. 

 

Newt twisted the steering wheel, and the car flew to the side, after which he messed with the clutch again to make the car move forwards. He spinned the steering wheel the other way and somehow knew to get them onto the road the right way around.

  
“I’m gonna be sick,” Thomas muttered in a high-pitched voice, clutching the seat belt with an iron grip. Newt ignored him, pressing down on the gas pedal hard, racing down the road.

  
Away from the horde.

 

Away from Lizzy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow goddamn I really need to learn how to update sooner this was due months ago 
> 
> oh well here it is 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this! Idk when the next chapter will be up but it's probably gonna be a l o n g time from now 
> 
> As always, kudos, comments, and feedback is greatly appreciated! <3

**Author's Note:**

> So this was the first chapter of our fic! Hope you enjoyed!  
> Alright, so this is the way this fic works. I write chapters from Newt's pov. My friend, Angela, who needs to make a fucking account so I can tag her, writes the story from Thomas's pov. Very important chapters (ex. first one) will be written twice- once from Newt's pov, and once from Thomas's. For the rest of the story the pov will switch with every chapter. (Chapter 2 will be Newt, 3 will be Thomas, etcetera.)
> 
> Constructive criticism is always appreciated, and so are kudos and comments! We would love to hear your thoughts on this story!


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